EDE360A Practicum

for FA 2006

Mission Statement: The mission of Park University, an entrepreneurial institution of learning, is to provide access to academic excellence, which will prepare learners to think critically, communicate effectively and engage in lifelong learning while serving a global community.

Vision Statement: Park University will be a renowned international leader in providing innovative educational opportunities for learners within the global society.

Course Description: This field experience in a classroom supports the integration of teacher knowledge, skills, and dispositions in the observation and application of classroom management, professional practices, and instructional techniques. The student is required to be in the regular classroom a full day or 2 half days during the semester. The practicum will be coordinated with upper level coursework. Students must earn a “B” to continue in the program. Prerequisite: Admission to the School for Education . Course will be repeated as needed to support other courses 0:2:2

Educational Philosophy:

This course presents the basics of teaching in elementary schools, and provides pre-service teachers with opportunities to reflect upon and apply those basics.Reflective inquiry is a key element of the course.This course requires the pre-service teacher to observe a practicing teacher in a classroom and reflect upon the observations.The pre-service teacher is also required to fulfill the duties that are outlined in the Practicum Handbook.It is the philosophy of this instructor that the pre-service teacher at the assigned site be an active member of the classroom and demonstrates the attributes of a professional teacher.

The instructor has the following expectations of the enrollees in EDE360:1) they are advanced, serious students with a declared commitment to elementary education, 2) they have completed all requirements for Admission to Teacher Education, and 3) they are skilled in oral and written communication.

A 14 week field experience providing supervised fieldwork in the elementary classroom.The teacher candidates are required to spend one full day a week or 2 half days a week (minimum) at the designated field site.The details of specific assignments for the block practicum are outlined in related courses and the Practicum Handbook.The requirements of this experience must be successfully completed before enrolling in additional Practicum courses.Evaluation forms will completed by the supervising teacher and cooperating teacher that assess the ParkUniversity student's skills in the classroom.

1.Attendance.Consistent and Prompt attendance at the school site is very important!Credit is earned for each day of attendance. An attendance log must be kept and signed by cooperating teacher.

2.Evaluation for each elementary practicum experience.(see attached evaluation form.)Evaluation forms are to be completed by the cooperating and supervising teacher.

3.EssentialTeacher Dispositions (see attached evaluation form.)Evaluation forms are to be completed by the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor.

4.Teaching activities and performance indicators.The ParkUniversity student will provide the Park University Supervisor with requested documentation of the aligned assignments for related courses and the Practicum Handbook.The cooperating teacher will provide a signed document attesting to the completion of these activities and performance indicators.

5.A reflective journal that contains an entry for each visit at the assigned site.Topics will be assigned in EDE 359.

Grading:

Reflective Journal25%250 pts.

Attendance20%200 pts.

Cooperating Teacher Evaluation (see handbook)20%200 pts.

Supervising Teacher Evaluation(see handbook)35%350 pts.

In addition, any student who misses three classes, regardless of whether or not the absence is excused, will be administratively withdrawn.

Late Submission of Course Materials:

Timely completion of assignments is required.Late submissions of drafts, lesson plans, and all other site assignments will result in grade reduction of 25%.Absolutely no work will be accepted after the assigned time of the final.Any missing work/assignments will recorded as a “zero”.

Classroom Rules of Conduct:

The policy on appropriate conduct as defined in the student handbook will be enforced.Conflicts will be administered in the procedures outlined in the handbook.The school site officials and Park University Supervisors have the right to remove/end the Practicum student's placement in a school setting at any time.

Computers make writing and revising much easier and more productive.Students must recognize though that technology can also cause problems.Printers run out of ink and hard drive crash.Students must be responsible for planning ahead and meeting deadlines in spite of technology.Be sure to save copies of your work to disk, hard drive, and print out paper copies for backup purposes.

Course Topic/Dates/Assignments:

Week

Date

Topics/Assignments

One - Three

Aug. 21- Sept. 8

Contact cooperating teacher and set up days for practicum.

Assignment:Reflection Journal

Four

Work with cooperating teacher.

Assignment:Reflection Journal: Weekly, see assigned topics

Five- Fifteen

Work with cooperating teacher.

Assignment:Reflection Journal: Weekly, see assigned topics

Sixteen

Summary conferences with cooperating teacher,

Reflection Journal due with

bulletin board pictures

Two Lesson plans

Weekly reflections on assigned topics

Evaluations from cooperating teacher

Academic Honesty:Academic integrity is the foundation of the academic community. Because each student has the primary responsibility for being academically honest, students are advised to read and understand all sections of this policy relating to standards of conduct and academic life. Park University 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog Page 87-89

Plagiarism:Plagiarism involves the use of quotations without quotation marks, the use of quotations without indication of the source, the use of another's idea without acknowledging the source, the submission of a paper, laboratory report, project, or class assignment (any portion of such) prepared by another person, or incorrect paraphrasing. Park University 2005-2006 Undergraduate Catalog Page 87

The instructor may excuse absences for valid reasons, but missed work must be made up within the semester/term of enrollment.

Work missed through unexcused absences must also be made up within the semester/term of enrollment, but unexcused absences may carry further penalties.

In the event of two consecutive weeks of unexcused absences in a semester/term of enrollment, the student will be administratively withdrawn, resulting in a grade of "WH".

A "Contract for Incomplete" will not be issued to a student who has unexcused or excessive absences recorded for a course.

Students receiving Military Tuition Assistance or Veterans Administration educational benefits must not exceed three unexcused absences in the semester/term of enrollment. Excessive absences will be reported to the appropriate agency and may result in a monetary penalty to the student.

Report of a "F" grade (attendance or academic) resulting from excessive absence for those students who are receiving financial assistance from agencies not mentioned in item 5 above will be reported to the appropriate agency.

Disability Guidelines:Park University is committed to meeting the needs of all students that meet the criteria for special assistance. These guidelines are designed to supply directions to students concerning the information necessary to accomplish this goal. It is Park University's policy to comply fully with federal and state law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, regarding students with disabilities. In the case of any inconsistency between these guidelines and federal and/or state law, the provisions of the law will apply. Additional information concerning Park University's policies and procedures related to disability can be found on the Park University web page: http://www.park.edu/disability .

Copyright:

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